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The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, has deplored the death of press photographer Sergii Nikolaiev on 28 February.

“I condemn the killing of Sergii Nikolaiev,” the Director-General said. “I call on all in Ukraine to ensure the safety of media workers.”

A senior photographer for the Ukrainian daily paper Segodnya, Sergii Nikolaiev, is reported to have been fatally injured near the village of Pesky, near the Donetsk airport, in eastern Ukraine.

The Director-General of UNESCO issues statements on the killing of media workers in line with Resolution 29 adopted by UNESCO Member States at the Organization’s General Conference of 1997, entitled “Condemnation of Violence against Journalists.” These statements are posted on a dedicated webpage, UNESCO condemns the killing of journalists.

UNESCO is the United Nations agency with a mandate to defend freedom of expression and press freedom. Article 1 of its Constitution requires the Organization to “further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations.” To realize this the Organization is requested to “collaborate in the work of advancing the mutual knowledge and understanding of peoples, through all means of mass communication and to that end recommend such international agreements as may be necessary to promote the free flow of ideas by word and image…”